Suigetsu Hōzuki
was the first member to join Sasuke's Team Snake, and his first step in his ultimate revenge against Itachi. Personality Suigetsu appears to be indifferent, caring for only a few things around him. He spends a considerable amount of time mocking and or being beaten by Karin, another member of Team Snake. Suigetsu also shows a desire to collect all the swords of the Seven Mist Swordsmen, of which his senior Zabuza Momochi, was a member of and which he appears to have been a member of as well. Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the Seven Swordsmen, claims Suigetsu is a prodigy at the art of murder, as he has a habit of chopping off his victim's limbs before beheading them. Suigetsu apparently likes animals, as he is seen playing with several talking cats at one point and also lectured Sasuke on treating animals better after Sasuke used Manda to escape an explosion, causing Manda's death. Part II Freedom Right after Sasuke defeated Orochimaru, he went into one of Orochimaru's many experimentation labs and broke free Suigetsu, who was reduced to nothing but water, out of a holding tube. Once freed, Suigetsu threatened to kill Sasuke, after which he later told him he wanted to join him. When Sasuke replied with complete indifference, Suigetsu backed off saying that he was just testing him. Once they left, Suigetsu had Sasuke take him to the Land of Waves, to retrieve Zabuza's sword from his grave. Retrieving Karin After leaving the Land of Waves, the two continued north to another one of Orchimaru's bases. After finding Karin, Sasuke told Suigetsu to go release the prisoners. Before releasing them however, Suigetsu told them to spread the word that Sasuke killed Orochimaru and would bring peace to the world. As Sasuke hadn't ordered him to say these things, his motives appear to be unclear. Retrieving Jugo Once Karin was persuaded to join, they headed out to get the catalyst to Orochimaru's curse seals, Jugo. They had to fight their way through an army of people branded with the Cursed Seal to reach him, and under Sasuke's orders were told not to kill any of them. When they found Jugo, who attacked them, Suigetsu attempted to kill him. However Sasuke intervened and threatened to kill both of them if they didn't stop fighting. Once Jugo calmed down, and with some persuasion on Sasuke's part, Jugo was recruited. Afterwards Sasuke told them their mission and their new teams name; they would be known as "Snake", and their mission was to find Itachi Uchiha. Search of Uchiha Suigetsu goes off on his own after being ordered with the rest of "Snake" to find Itachi. After tracing Deidara's suicide explosion to Sasuke, Suigetsu tells Sasuke that he should be kinder to animals, after using Manda as a shield to protect himself from the explosion. After they rest and continue on their adventure, Sasuke finds Itachi and goes to challenge him. First his group encounters Kisame, who tells them Sasuke must go alone. Leaving "Snake" behind, Suigetsu challenges Kisame to a battle, who gladly accepts while Sasuke hunts down and presumably defeats Itachi. Abilities Suigetsu is able to reduce himself to liquid form and to return to bodily form at will. This ability also allows him to change his body shape, giving him the ability to increase the size of his limbs, proportionally increasing his strength, if necessary. It also makes striking him somewhat difficult; since he is made of liquid, any regular strike will go right through his watery form. It is unknown if this is some sort of bloodline trait, or if it is due to Orochimaru's experimentation. He is arguably quite powerful or at least very confident in his abilities, since he has threatened Sasuke on more than one occasion. Suigetsu is also the first ninja seen carrying water bottles on his outfit. Given his somewhat frequent desire to consume water, Suigetsu may require regular hydration to sustain his watery form.